Second Lockheed Martin F-35B Arrives At Navy Test Site

The second F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing test aircraft refuels en route to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., where it will undertake the majority of its flight testing activities. The stealth fighter landed at Patuxent River on Dec. 29, joining the first F-35B, which arrived in November.

"Pax River is ready to begin the extensive four-year flight test campaign to help field the future of Marine Corps and Navy Aviation," said Dan Crowley, Lockheed Martin executive vice president and F-35 program general manager. "Over the next year, an integrated government/industry test team will ramp up the flight test at Pax River for the F-35B STOVL variant and F-35C carrier variant, and at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., for the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variant."

Like the first F-35B that arrived at Patuxent River in November, this aircraft also is supported by the F-35 Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) and monitored by the F-35 Autonomics Logistics Global Sustainment (ALGS) Operations Center in Fort Worth. F-35 sustainment is based upon the principles of Performance-Based Logistics (PBL), involving extensive partnering agreements between government and industry. The F-35 team has developed an advanced sustainment system capability with designed-in sustainability that will reduce overall life-cycle costs and ensure mission readiness.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2008 sales of $42.7 billion.